Weekly Brief December 30!

Does the new year have you reflecting on how you made a positive impact in your community in 2015?

We are especially proud of the inspiration and training we brought to youth in West Charlotte neighborhoods through our Sustainable Neighborhoods Program this past year.

Our impact is highlighted in the words of 17 year-old Imani during a sustainability visioning workshop that we facilitated at Arbor Glen. When we asked the youth to envision their community's future, Imani wrote:

"People young and old all joined together and recycled, built green homes and started using less cars on the roads. I just see bikes and happy healthy smiling people walking and exercising at all the newly made playgrounds. That's one small step for a neighborhood and a big leap to an energy efficient country".

We have until tomorrow at midnight to reach our end-of-year fundraising goal of $15,000. So far, we've raised $13,420! Will you help us raise the $1,580 still needed?

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank those who have donated to our organization this year. Our Giving Tree represents YOUR contribution and dedication to our work to build a healthier and more vibrant Charlotte region for generations to come!

The extent of our positive impact in the community since our launch in 2010 has been immense. Please take a moment to watch this video and then share it with your friends and family! This video will open your heart and mind as well as theirs in understanding our commitment to our community's sustainability:

At 6:30, our featured speaker and Bronze Partner Domtar will share about their sustainability efforts.

Enter the raffle for a chance to WIN a brand new BIKE (generously donated by Trips for Kids)! Head to Wooden Robot now through the 5th to enjoy great beer and to purchase your raffle ticket for only $5!

We voiced the Charlotte cycling community's concerns about NCDOT recommendations!

NCDOT recently made some disappointing recommendations that would make it harder and less safe to ride a bicycle. The new recommendations would limit cyclists' rights to organize group rides without a complicated permitting process, to ride more than two abreast, and to use the full lane.

"GOP legislators also have been unfriendly toward mass transit options such as rail. Again, that’s shortsighted. If we want growth to continue, one way to facilitate it, without building more roads that will be crowded instantly, is to invest in light rail and commuter rail. The state also ought to invest more in social services and infrastructure for cities, because such investments will benefit areas nearby." We absolutely agree!

"The Knight Foundation will announce $4.3 million in grants to three Charlotte-area organizations Tuesday — including $2.24 million to Trees Charlotte...[an organization] created in 2012 to help the 'The City of Trees' achieve its goal of having 50 percent of the city covered by tree canopy by 2050". As our Executive Director says in this article, "a lot of cities have a natural resource — typically a body of water — with which to connect. For Charlotte...that natural resource is trees”! We are glad to see funding go toward this resource.

"You can add the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission to the local voices expressing concern about development moving rapidly as the city’s process to rewrite its aging zoning code moves far slower. At its monthly work session Monday, members of the planning commission spent several minutes discussing what some see as rising community concern over new developments being built according to zoning standards that some observers see as outdated and inadequate". We agree with architect and planner Terry Shook that “we’ve got to find a way to get some strategic intervention in this code now”!

"For the poor in the Deep South’s cities, simply applying for a job exposes the barriers of a particularly pervasive and isolating form of poverty...even as their ranks have grown, the deeply impoverished in the Deep South have also increasingly found that they are on their own: They are less likely to receive the help of a spouse — or the government." Sprawl and lack of transportation choices limit the potential of our entire community, but especially the working poor! We advocate for transportation choices in the Charlotte region in an effort to enhance social equity.

This video "accompanies a larger public discussion Ottawa has been having all year about new parking rules. The existing zoning codes, established half a century ago, require developers to create a certain amount of parking based on the type of building in the works—the sort of “parking minimums” found in so many cities. Ottawa wants to reduce or eliminate those outdated minimums..." We agree that outdated minimum parking requirements are bad for small businesses and prevent new walkable, transit-oriented development where it's most needed!

The Centralina Area Agency on Aging is seeking your input as they develop their 2016-2020 Area Plan! They are specifically interested in information about the most critical issues for people of all ages and abilities in your county. This survey will take 5 to 10 minutes to complete and ideally, they want to hear from older adults, caregivers or individuals who work with older adults. Surveys must be completed by February 29, 2016. Click here to take this survey now.

Is your company interested in becoming a Sustain Charlotte partner? Our generous partners play a critical role in supporting our work. Through our corporate membership program, we provide year-round brand exposure, positive publicity, and business development opportunities to those businesses and nonprofits that are helping make our community more sustainable through their products, services, or commitment to move their organization towards greater sustainability. Become a partner today!